Daniel - Poker Journal

Nightmare Central

23 Aug 2008

So here is the deal. I get to LA in time to record four new radio shows for PokerRoad and after that I jump in my rental car and look for a place to stay. I normally stay at the Commerce or Wyndham but decided that I wanted a change of scenery so I decided to stay closer to the Bike. After last night, though, Iím outta hereÖ

I was asleep by midnight and feel like I had nightmares for six straight hours. Those brutal kind where you feel like you wake up from the dream, but nope, you are still in it. Hereís a hazy rendition of some of the highlights:

I was in my parents bedroom in the house I grew up in. No one was home at all and I was sleeping in their bed. It was dark, and I opened my eyes to see a nurse in the hallway. I got up to see what was up and she rushed me then disappeared . Another woman, or silhouette of a woman was on the stairwell. I tried turning on the lights but they didnít work- that would be one of the recurring aspects of the dream as sometimes they worked, sometimes they didnít.

The entire dream took place with me not being able to leave the house. I got back to my room to call Jennifer and see if there was a game at Bellagio. It was about 7:00am and she said there was a great game going and I considered going down there. Now the lights in the bedroom were on. All of a sudden Jennifer was in the bedroom while I was still on the phone with her. She was biting the pad of my thumb really hard and looked zombie like, so I grabbed her head and was smashing it on the ground trying to shake her loose.

Then I woke up and it was dark still. I went to the window, super scared. I decided I was going to get out of there and as I was unplugging my laptop cord from the wall I looked back in the bed and my father was laying there. I realized I was still in my parents bedroom. He arose from the bed and scorned me a little bit, questioning what I was doing. He was standing there in front of me, and I remember him saying something like, ďOne side of your face looks better than the other.Ē Immediately I took that to mean something like he wanted me to be a good boy and not a bad one. Hard to explain there. My father didn't really scare me. He appeared there to help save me I felt. I was happy to see him... it's been a long time.

I tried to leave the house, went down the stairs and the lights worked. I made it to the living room and tried to press a button to turn the lights on. There was a button on a red velvet char we had in that room, but when I pressed it, music came on but no lights. I pressed it again to shut off the music. For some reason I went back to the bedroom again.

After the visit from my father I found myself praying to God for the dream to end. I figured I was awake doing this, but no, this too was part of the dream. While in the bedroom now things got worse. I was being mocked, almost, by all kinds of random things. A fat white cat, a dog, lights that wouldnít work, etc.

I ran downstairs again, no lights working at all and planned on just running outside and going anywhere. By this time it was pouring rain outside but that didnít bother me. I tried to open the front door, but it was sealed. All of a sudden, on the couch next to me was a tray with soft drinks and snacks for me. I went upstairs again, and another tray of food and drinks sat on the bed.

I went to the window, planning on seeing what was going on outside. It wasnít raining anymore, but right outside my door it looked like there were loads of people down there, sitting on patios having a drink at what appeared to be a bar. I look to my right and there was a black cat sitting on the window sill. Not sure why I did this, but I think because I wanted to jump myself, I threw the cat off the window sill to see if it would make it. The cat flew out of the window and landed just fine.

No lights in my room, a super fat guy appeared next to me wearing a yellow hat backwards, an orange shirt, shorts, and socks and sandals. He was huge and scary looking, but at the same time looked a bit familiar. He kind of came at me like he was upset, so I ran down the stairs again, lights not working at all.

It was as though I was trapped inside this house and even though I kind of knew I was dreaming, every time I tried to wake up, and thought I was successful.. I found myself right back where I started- in my parents bedroom hearing noises from the hallway. Iíd go to the hallway and look, see a cute white dog and try to figure out what he was doing in my house. Iíd chase him down the steps and there Iíd see him at the bottom hallway with a fat white cat. Iíd go back to the room.. And loads of bread with hummus, Coke and Sprite cans lay on a tray for me on the bed. It was all just insane.

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I finally did wake up at about 8:00am and still had the chills about the room I woke up in. Itís a strange vibe here. Everything seems a bit old, and almost haunted or something. This might be irrational, but Iím checking out. Itís slightly creepy here.

Iím here for the WPT at the Bike event that starts at 2:00pm today. There are two day ones and Iíve yet to decide which day Iím going to play. I'm still a bit sick with a cough and a soar throat so I plan on playing it by ear. I donít have any strong feelings either way about my play in this event. I hope to play well but there is no extra oomph that makes me feel as though Iíll win this thing. Having said that, Iím anxious to play some poker and didnít come out here to lose.

In the meantime, Iím watching CNN. Today is a big day in politics with Barack Obama announcing that he chose Joe Biden as his running mate, Biden is a tough dude, outspoken, loads of experience in areas where many say Obama as weak, and a guy who will throw some punches. I liked Biden even from the early debates and feel like he is a relatively straight shooter. Hard to really call any politician a complete straight shooter because any truly straight shooter could never rise to that level of office without bending and twisting in order to please people.

Itís almost 9:00am here and I think Iím going to pack up and find a new place to stayÖ

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